Hello again, readers. To paraphrase a certain local musician’s recent post on Facebook, there are like 8,000 killer shows taking place right here in Pittsburgh this month! It seemed like about half of those were taking place last weekend (see here for a summary of those), but there are tons more going on this week too! Some big names, and some not-so-big but who have been talked about frequently on this very blog… details below.
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Tag Archives: Molasses Barge
Upcoming Shows: What To Do In Pittsburgh This Weekend (12-15 April 2012)
Hello, readers! How are you? I think I’ve officially recovered from the holiday weekend and am ready to get back into the swing of posting updates. Did you have a nice Easter? I’ve been spending a lot of time listening to Ghost, since I finally got around to picking up Opus Eponymous on CD almost two weeks ago. I like it a lot, but I’ve kind of got a funny feeling about it. I haven’t tried slowing it down or playing it backwards or anything, but I get the impression that there might be some kind of hidden evil messages or something. Oh well. Hey, speaking of which, they’ll be coming to town in just a few more days! In fact, they’re just one of a whole slew of awesome bands playing in Pittsburgh over the coming weekend. Just keep on reading for all the details on this show and tons more.
Upcoming Shows: Across Tundras Heading Across the U.S.A.
Hey, just a quick heads-up so you can start getting excited about this: Nashville, Tennessee’s Across Tundras are heading out on tour in just a couple of days, and will be making their way back and forth across the country, almost non-stop for two months. A full list of dates can be found at the end of this post, including a few yet to be confirmed or still needing booked.
But first, here’s a small sampling of what’s in store for you if the band is coming near where you live (spoiler alert: they are coming to Pittsburgh!) If the name wasn’t already in use for a similar genre, I’d be tempted to call this desert rock, because in my opinion that expression suits this music perfectly: it’s very mellow and introspective, sometimes sparse, and it’s extremely heavy without being especially loud. I don’t know if that makes sense, when you read it, but have a listen and see what I mean…
Upcoming Shows: Iron Atrocity Benefit, Vulture CD Release, Ernie and the Berts
This post goes out to anyone who will be in or around the Pittsburgh area this weekend and can’t find anything to do: GET YOUR ASS OUT TO SOME SHOWS, because there are some awesome ones happening all three nights!! Check out the details below, and get excited!
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Iron Atrocity Vol.2 Benefit Show
at The Smiling Moose bar on the South Side
1306 East Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Friday, 30 March 2012 – doors open at 9:00, show runs until 1:30am
21+ only, $5 per person (suggested minimum donation)
For more details, see the Facebook event page.
You’ve seen me talking about Iron Atrocity, the free compilation of the Pittsburgh metal scene many times before, and for good reason. There’s lots of great stuff on the first volume (don’t belive me? Download it here!), and there promises to be just as much awesomeness when the second one rolls around.
Innervenus, the local record label and music collective responsible for assembling this compilation, held a Kickstarter fundraising campaign recently to help finance the production of the CD. That was mostly successful — at least, enough pledges were made to cover about two-thirds of their target, while the Innervenus staff ended up supplementing the remainder out of their own pockets.
Well, some nice folks decided to throw together another benefit show to help offset some of those costs, and that show is happening this Friday night.
- Leprosy Facebook
- Lycosa Facebook
- Molasses Barge Facebook (and by the way, you might remember I talked about this band’s live show back when they were doing the previous Iron Atrocitybenefit show)
Spitupon(** UPDATE: I have learned that Spitupon had to drop out of the line-up for this show but you can still check them out on Facebook)
The Smiling Moose Facebook
Iron Atrocity Facebook
Innervenus Facebook, Website
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If that isn’t already too much excitement for you to handle, there’s plenty more on the way…
REPOST: Help Make Iron Atrocity v.2 a Reality!
Ladies and Gentlemen, one last time I am bringing this to your attention, because this fine organization who is so instrumental in supporting great local music could really use some support from all of you right now.
There is now less than one day remaining in this fundraising campaign. If you have been waiting until the last minute, THIS IS IT. Don’t put it off until tomorrow (Friday), because the deadline is 5am tomorrow morning. As of the time I am posting this, they have only raised approximately HALF of their original goal. That leaves less than twenty-four hours to make up the other half!
For those unfamiliar with exactly how Kickstarter works, you don’t need to worry if maybe you don’t get paid until tomorrow and you’ve been trying to wait until then to send in your donation. This is just a pledge, you aren’t paying anything yet, until after the deadline has passed.
Note: If the pledge drive doesn’t meet its goal before the deadline, it will fail, no money will change hands at all, and the terrorists will have won. We can’t let that happen.
So get to clicking: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/240758996/iron-atrocity-v2, and show your support for local music. Please, if you have anything to spare — $10, $5, even $1 — it all adds up. But do it now, there is no more time to put it off any longer.
Thank you.
—Valley of Steel
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(previously posted on 15 February, 2012):
You might remember I talked about this project before — back in November I posted about some upcoming Molasses Barge shows which included a benefit show in Decmeber to support the Iron Atrocity v.2 compilation.
If you don’t remember, Iron Atrocity is a digital download (available free by visiting www.ironatrocity.com) or CD compilation (I do not know if any copies are still available, but it was given out for free at shows associated with Innervenus or any of the bands on the CD) which highlights some of the best in Pittsburgh-area metal music today.
Well, the second compilation in the series is currently in the works, and the folks at Innervenus are trying to raise a little extra capital to get this thing off the ground…
Continue reading
Help Make Iron Atrocity v.2 a Reality!
You might remember I talked about this project before — back in November I posted about some upcoming Molasses Barge shows which included a benefit show in Decmeber to support the Iron Atrocity v.2 compilation.
If you don’t remember, Iron Atrocity is a digital download (available free by visiting www.ironatrocity.com) or CD compilation (I do not know if any copies are still available, but it was given out for free at shows associated with Innervenus or any of the bands on the CD) which highlights some of the best in Pittsburgh-area metal music today.
Well, the second compilation in the series is currently in the works, and the folks at Innervenus are trying to raise a little extra capital to get this thing off the ground…
Continue reading
Upcoming Show: Dream Death Reunite for One Night Only!
Yes, that Dream Death. The Pittsburgh doom legends from the 1980s. The ones who attained cult status in local metal lore, after they had split up and reconfigured themselves as Penance. They recently posted an update on Facebook announcing that they were getting back together the last line-up of the band (which included all of the founding members except for bassist Ted Williams, meaning that this also includes all the members of Dream Death who later went on to form Penance) for a one-time-only show!
Pittsburgh metal legends Dream Death are reuniting for one show.
This will be the line up of:
Brian Lawrence (Goodbread)
Mike Smail
Terry Weston
Richie FreundWith special guests Argus and one more TBA. 21+
Saturday, April 21, 2012
9:00pm31st Street Pub
3101 Penn Ave. (Penn Ave @ 31st St. Bridge)
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Update, 5 March 2012:
The band has announced that tickets for this event are now available!
Tickets for the April 21st show are now available.
Tickets can be purchased for $15 at Smails Custom Drum Shop.
www.smailscustomdrumshop.comThe following options are available:
Check or Money Order
Cash
PaypalMake Checks and Money Orders payable to Mike Smail
134 Market Street
Kittanning PA 16201
724-548-4725PayPal Paypal Address is: mike@smailscustomdrumshop.com
** IMPORTANT **
Please include your return address so the tickets can be mailed back to you.
You can find out more by visiting the following links:
Dream Death: Facebook
Journey into Mystery album (CD – rare, out of print!
Pittsburgh Sludge Metal live album (CD
Penance: Facebook
Parallel Corners album (CD
Alpha & Omega album (CD
Argus (featuring vocalist Brian “Butch” Balich, also currently of Penance and Molasses Barge):
Facebook / official website
Boldy Stride the Doomed album (CD
Closer to Hell: Facebook
Read the Valley of Steel profile of this band as the “Sign Me To Roadrunner Records” Band of the Week
31st Street Pub: Facebook
Upcoming Shows – Don’t Miss Molasses Barge!
Pittsburgh’s own Molasses Barge is kind of a recent discovery for me. I had become aware of them a while back by virtue of the fact that singer Brian ‘Butch’ Balich is also the frontman for the fucking awesome Pennsylvanian doom band Argus. But, I hadn’t actually heard them until this August when I saw them open up for Pentagram.
In a clear case of truth-in-advertising, Molasses Barge sound just like how something with such a name should sound. The main thing that struck me as I witnessed this sludgey beast in action was the setup drummer Wayne Massey was using. He seemed to have all the drum and cymbal hardware adjusted to the lowest possible height, so that it was all barely above the level of his throne. In this way, he constantly seemed to be hunched over the kit, throwing everything he had into a downward motion as he struck each beat. While it seems this would take a lot out of a person – in fact, before the second song began, Massey had already cast aside the t-shirt he’d begun the set with, and also by this time he was looking as though he might have benefitted from a jug of water like the one Butch was constantly taking swigs from between sections of vocals – nevertheless the technique was very effective in laying down a thundrously driving rhythm underneath the rest of the band.
Guitarists Justin Gizzi and Ken Houser mainly hung off to their respective sides of the stage, out of the spotlight, but their combined crunchy riffs and melodic soloing built a substantial wall of noise that more than made their presence felt. And Butch sort of bounced around the area between the two guitarists,with an imposing presence and also very impressive singing; meanwhile, occupying whatever real estate the vocalist had vacated at any given moment, Amy Bianco sort of meandered through the middle of it all, offering up basslines that similarly filled the empty sonic space between the others.
Of course, I can say all the words in the world describing the show these folks put on, but nothing would help you envision the experience as much as an actual video of the event. Well fortunately, some kind soul recorded the show I saw, and then made it available on Youtube for all who had missed it.
Anyway, now you pretty much know all you need to know, in order to know that you need to get out there and see this band live, as soon as possible! And you are in luck, because over the next few weeks you’ll have not one, but TWO opportunities to do so – as long as you are fortunate enough to be within driving distance of the greater Pittsburgh area. See below for descriptions and details for each of the upcoming shows.
You might also be interested in:
Molasses Barge – Jewels (download)
Argus – Boldly Stride the Doomed (CD | download)
Valley of Steel 